On this day, Dec. 24, in hip-hop history…

2012: Seven years ago to the day, Brooklyn native and Pro Era rapper Jamal Dewar, also known as Capital Steez, passed away. He was one of the founding members of Pro Era and one of the prominent faces of Brooklyn's movement, Beast Coast, which consists of Pro Era, The Underachievers and Flatbush Zombies.

Steez released his solo project, AmeriKKKan Korruption, on April 7, 2012, producing hits like "Survival Tactics," with Joey Bada$$ and “Free the Robots.” The release date, which is also the seventh day of the fourth month of the year, was in congruence with his fascination with the number 47, a number which Jamal felt was a perfect expression of balance in the world because it represented the struggle between the fourth chakra (the heart) and the seventh chakra (the brain).

The 19-year-old Brooklyn MC was really just breaking into the scene and widely considered to be next up in his crew to hit the limelight after Joey Badda$$. Tragically, Steez was found dead on Christmas Eve in Manhattan’s Flatiron District when he apparently jumped off of a building in the early hours of the morning, right after he took to Twitter to tweet “The end.”

The tragedy went down just two days after Pro Era dropped their first full project together, PEEP: The aPROcalypse, on December 21, 2012. Regardless, Steez's legacy lives on through the influence of Pro Era and their music.

He is honored by the crew during an annual STEEZ Day concert that Pro Era puts on in his name.

R.I.P., Capital Steez.

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